Table A.2.

Comparison and description of various dose levels

Dose level Description

1 mrem Approximate daily dose from natural background radiation, including radon

2.5 mrem Cosmic dose to a person on a one-way airplane flight from New York to Los Angeles

10 mrem Annual exposure limit set by EPA for exposures from airborne
emissions from operations of nuclear fuel cycle facilities, including power
plants, uranium mines, and mills

45 mrem Average yearly dose from cosmic radiation received by people in the Paducah area

46 mrem Estimate of the largest dose any off-site person could have received from the
March 28, 1979, Three Mile Island nuclear accident

66 mrem Average yearly dose to people in the United States from human-made sources

100 mrem Annual limit of dose from all DOE facilities to a member of the public who
is not a radiation worker

110 mrem Average occupational dose received by U.S. commercial radiation workers in 1980

244 mrem Average dose from an upper gastrointestinal diagnostic X-ray series

300 mrem Average yearly dose to people in the United States from all sources of natural
background radiation

1 to 5 rem Level at which EPA Protective Action Guidelines state that public officials
should take emergency action when this is a probable dose to a member of the
public from a nuclear accident

5 rem Annual limit for occupational exposure of radiation workers set by the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission and DOE

10 rem Estimated level at which an acute dose would result in a lifetime

excess risk of death from cancer 0.8%

25 rem EPA guideline for voluntary maximum dose to emergency workers for
non-lifesaving work during an emergency

75 rem EPA guideline for maximum dose to emergency workers volunteering for
lifesaving work

50 to 600 rem Level at which doses received over a short period of time produce
radiation sickness in varying degrees. At the lower end of this range, people
are expected to recover completely, given proper medical attention. At the top
of this range, most people will die within 60 days
Adapted from Savannah River Site Environmental Report for 1993, Summary Pamphlet,
WSRC-TR-94-076, Westinghouse Savannah River Company, 1994.